Thriving in Intersectionality

Dr. Janine Lee knows firsthand. As the Global Head of Learning at a Fortune 500 tech company, Dr. Lee has spent nearly 20 years breaking barriers while building an impressive multifaceted career. In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, she shares how being an American-born Chinese woman from Oakland shaped her leadership journey and why she believes your intersectional identity can become your greatest professional strength.

Dr. Lee opens up about the unique challenges of being "American-born Chinese" – constantly fielding the question "Where are you really from?" despite being born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Growing up in Oakland added another layer, requiring her to code-switch between different social circles and navigate assumptions about her background.

Her advice? "Write down any of the biases or assumptions that come up when they think about your intersectionality and think about how you can use them as strengths." Dr. Lee demonstrates this by intentionally speaking up more to combat stereotypes about quiet Asian women, while leveraging her natural listening skills as leadership advantages.

Dr. Lee's approach to career development centers on three key elements:

Find Your North Star: Create a personal mission statement and vision that guides all decisions. Dr. Lee's mission – "to inspire others to reach their full potential" – shows up in everything from her corporate role to her coaching practice.

Focus on What, How, and Who: Master your skills (what), develop your unique delivery style (how), and build strong networks (who). This combination creates what Dr. Lee calls an "unstoppable" career foundation.

Embrace Non-Linear Paths: Dr. Lee successfully juggles corporate leadership, executive coaching, teaching at UC Berkeley, speaking, and writing. Her secret? Aligning everything under the same mission umbrella.

Dr. Lee earned both her MBA and doctorate while working full-time, often maintaining 14-15 hour days. Her groundbreaking dissertation on workplace belonging for Women of Color in Tech was featured in Harvard Business Review. Her message is clear: continuous learning isn't just about credentials – it's about combating career stagnation and staying aligned with your evolving goals.

Dr. Lee holds an MBA from UC Berkeley and an EdD from USC. She's a certified executive coach, LinkedIn Top Voice, and author of "Unstoppable: Rise of Female Global Leaders." Her course on "Leading DEI Change" is featured on LinkedIn Learning, and she's taught over 200 MBA students from 35+ countries. 

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Thank you for listening to Thriving in Intersectionality with Dr. Lola Adeyemo.

This podcast explores how identity, lived experience, and leadership intersect in today's workplace and beyond. Through conversations with leaders, founders, educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, we uncover stories and insights that help people thrive across the many intersections of their lives.

💬 Share your thoughts: Have a thought or question about this episode? Send me a Fan Mail message directly on our Buzzsprout podcast page. I'd love to hear what resonated with you.

❤️ Support the show: If these conversations bring you value, consider becoming a supporter. Your support helps keep meaningful stories, diverse perspectives, and new conversations coming.

⭐ Help others discover the podcast: Follow, share, rate, or review the show.

📬 Continue the conversation: Read my companion reflections, After the Conversation, on Substack.

🌍 For immigrant and first-generation professionals: Join our free community at Immigrants in Corporate.

Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters.

In this electrifying episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, host Lola Adeyemo welcomes Saundra Pelletier, a powerhouse in women's health innovation and a fierce advocate for women's empowerment. As CEO, President, and Interim Chair of Evofem Biosciences, Saundra shares her journey from a one-room apartment on welfare in Maine to revolutionizing women's reproductive health – all while navigating a cancer diagnosis, single motherhood, and corporate leadership.

Saundra Pelletier is the Interim Chair, CEO, President, and Executive Director of Evofem Biosciences, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to addressing unmet needs in women's sexual and reproductive health. Under her leadership, Evofem launched Phexxi in 2020, the first and only hormone-free, on-demand prescription birth control in the United States. In 2024, the company expanded its portfolio with SOLOSEC, an FDA-approved treatment for common vaginal infections.

With over 25 years of executive leadership experience, Saundra has driven multiple billion-dollar product launches, expanded commercial capabilities globally, and consistently advocated for women's health. She was previously the founding CEO of Woman Care Global, where she secured $68 million in funding to deliver healthcare products to women in over 100 developing countries.

Saundra's accolades include the Health and Human Services Award from the California State Assembly, San Diego Magazine's Woman of the Year, the Lifetime Legacy Award from the National Women of Influence, and inclusion in Inc. Magazine's Female Founders 100 List.

Saundra offers a revolutionary approach to seeking professional feedback: "Never admit weakness, because you will be pounced on and taken advantage of." Instead, start from a position of strength by acknowledging what you do well, then ask how you could "over-deliver." This framing protects you while still allowing for growth.

"Always start with 'here's what I know I do well, and here's what I know I'm contributing,' but I'd love to be able to over-deliver. Never give them a chance to turn the knife, because you've already said, 'Oh, I'm amazing. What could I do to be super-fragilistic?'"

Saundra shares a powerful formula that has guided her for 25 years: focus × confidence × passion = success. She emphasizes that all three elements must be present:

"Focus means you have to know exactly what you want. You have to repeat it to yourself. You have to write it down. Confidence is, if you don't have the skills to get it right now, you get those skills. And passion is you have to love it in a way that when everybody tells you no and all the haters and negative naysayers, you just have Teflon."

Channeling wisdom from her mother, Saundra highlights the critical distinction between being humble and feeling inferior: "Understand the difference between humility and inferiority. One will nurture your self-esteem and the other will destroy it."

Drawing from her experience as a woman leader in male-dominated industries, Saundra emphasizes the importance of creating your own opportunities rather than waiting for them:

"I couldn't find the ladder. They say, climb the corporate ladder. I could never find the ladder period. I didn't even know where to access the ladder... If you can't find the table, if you can't find the ladder, then create your own."

Following her cancer diagnosis and treatment, Saundra's passion for women's health innovation intensified exponentially. She explains how this personal challenge redirected her purpose:

"It changed me in a way that I will never be the same again... After my diagnosis, oh my goodness, I became so loud and proud, you would have thought my mouth was a megaphone... I'm a different mom, I'm a different woman, I'm a different leader of this company because of cancer."

Saundra passionately discusses Evofem's groundbreaking product, Phexxi, the first innovation in non-hormonal birth control since 1960. This FDA-approved, on-demand contraceptive works by maintaining a woman's natural vaginal pH, making it inhospitable to sperm without systemic hormones or side effects. The product is particularly valuable for women who cannot or prefer not to use hormonal contraceptives, including cancer survivors, breastfeeding mothers, and those on medications that interact with hormonal birth control.

"Women don't have sex every day... Women deserve to have a product that they use only when they need it, whenever, when they don't just like men have had condoms."

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Thank you for listening to Thriving in Intersectionality with Dr. Lola Adeyemo.

This podcast explores how identity, lived experience, and leadership intersect in today's workplace and beyond. Through conversations with leaders, founders, educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, we uncover stories and insights that help people thrive across the many intersections of their lives.

💬 Share your thoughts: Have a thought or question about this episode? Send me a Fan Mail message directly on our Buzzsprout podcast page. I'd love to hear what resonated with you.

❤️ Support the show: If these conversations bring you value, consider becoming a supporter. Your support helps keep meaningful stories, diverse perspectives, and new conversations coming.

⭐ Help others discover the podcast: Follow, share, rate, or review the show.

📬 Continue the conversation: Read my companion reflections, After the Conversation, on Substack.

🌍 For immigrant and first-generation professionals: Join our free community at Immigrants in Corporate.

Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters.

In this enlightening episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, host Lola Adeyemo welcomes Dr. Cristina Padilla, a distinguished Latina leadership scholar, consultant, and coach. Dr. Padilla shares her journey as a first-generation Mexican American navigating professional spaces, her approach to culturally relevant leadership development, and valuable insights for Latinas and other professionals of color seeking to advance in their careers.

Embrace Your Cultural Identity
Dr. Padilla shares her personal evolution from hiding her Mexican American identity as a child to finding strength in it as an adult. She discusses the concept of finding a "third space" where bicultural professionals can comfortably navigate multiple identities without feeling pressured to fit neatly into any single category.

Create Your Own Table
"If you can't find the ladder, if you can't find the table, then create your own." Dr. Padilla emphasizes the importance of creating spaces and opportunities when traditional pathways aren't accessible, sharing how this philosophy led to her co-founding Fluence and developing leadership programs specifically for Latina professionals.

Challenge Cultural Humility When Necessary
While humility is a beautiful cultural trait, Dr. Padilla advises professionals from cultures that emphasize modesty to recognize when this value might hinder career advancement. She encourages Latinas and other women of color to brand themselves, take ownership of their accomplishments, and pursue higher positions even when they don't feel completely ready.

Seek Validation and Support
Dr. Padilla's research and coaching experience reveal the importance of validation for Latina professionals who often don't recognize their own readiness for advancement. She recommends pursuing coaching opportunities when available and building relationships with multiple mentors who can provide different perspectives throughout various career stages.

Dr. Cristina Padilla is the Chief Community Officer and Co-Founder of Fluence, a leadership development training and coaching organization. With a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego, she brings academic rigor to her work developing culturally relevant leadership programs for Latinx populations. Her research focuses on Latina leader identity development, with several peer-reviewed publications to her credit. Dr. Padilla is particularly passionate about her work with the Latina Success Leadership Program for MANA de San Diego, where she serves on the steering committee.

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Are you an HR, Culture, or DEI Leader?

Email [email protected] to Get Your Workplace Community Employee Resource Groups (ERGs / BRGs) Launched, Leveraged, and Thriving!

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Support the show

Thank you for listening to Thriving in Intersectionality with Dr. Lola Adeyemo.

This podcast explores how identity, lived experience, and leadership intersect in today's workplace and beyond. Through conversations with leaders, founders, educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, we uncover stories and insights that help people thrive across the many intersections of their lives.

💬 Share your thoughts: Have a thought or question about this episode? Send me a Fan Mail message directly on our Buzzsprout podcast page. I'd love to hear what resonated with you.

❤️ Support the show: If these conversations bring you value, consider becoming a supporter. Your support helps keep meaningful stories, diverse perspectives, and new conversations coming.

⭐ Help others discover the podcast: Follow, share, rate, or review the show.

📬 Continue the conversation: Read my companion reflections, After the Conversation, on Substack.

🌍 For immigrant and first-generation professionals: Join our free community at Immigrants in Corporate.

Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters.

In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, host Lola Adeyemo speaks with Craig DeLarge, a digital healthcare strategist and mental health advocate whose remarkable 45-year career spans pharmaceutical giants, academia, and global leadership.

Craig began as a fashion design major before switching to marketing and has subsequently led to an impressive career trajectory through marketing research, advertising, product management, and eventually digital strategy in the pharmaceutical industry at companies like Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Novo Nordisk, Merck, and Takeda. Parallel to his corporate roles, he maintained a 25-year teaching career across five business schools in the Philadelphia area.

In this conversation, Craig shares invaluable insights on career development across cultural boundaries, the transformative power of international experience, and why it's never too late to pursue new opportunities and advanced education.

Age is Just a Number in Career Development
Craig completed his first international assignment at 49 and obtained his second graduate degree at 53. His message to younger professionals: "Don't give up... It's not too late if you're called to it, if you surround yourself with the right community, and if you have a vision for yourself and how you want to impact the world."

International Experience Transforms Perspective
His three years in Singapore challenged his "American Imperial bias" and connected him with the global African diaspora in unexpected ways. For cross-cultural success, Craig advises: maintain a sense of humor about yourself, build community, and be willing to critique your own biases.

Focus on Process, Not Just Outcomes
"Make sure that whatever outcome you want, you're not forgetting to have fun and to be engaging meaningfully in the process... You have more control over the process of your career than the outcome of your career."

Personal Challenges Drive Professional Purpose 

A family tragedy involving mental health 19 years ago transformed Craig's career focus, leading to his current work combining digital health expertise with mental health advocacy. This demonstrates how our personal journeys can inform and enrich our professional contributions.

Craig DeLarge's career includes executive roles at Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Novo Nordisk, Merck, and Takeda, alongside 25 years as a university professor teaching marketing, communications, leadership, and business ethics. His educational journey includes degrees from Philadelphia University, University of Westminster (UK), and King's College London. Craig's intersectional identity as an African American male from the South raised in the North, along with his roles as husband, father, and grandfather, have shaped his unique perspective on career development and leadership.

Email [email protected] to Get Your Workplace Community Employee Resource Groups (ERGs / BRGs) Launched, Leveraged, and Thriving!

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Thriving in Intersectionality with Dr. Lola Adeyemo.

This podcast explores how identity, lived experience, and leadership intersect in today's workplace and beyond. Through conversations with leaders, founders, educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, we uncover stories and insights that help people thrive across the many intersections of their lives.

💬 Share your thoughts: Have a thought or question about this episode? Send me a Fan Mail message directly on our Buzzsprout podcast page. I'd love to hear what resonated with you.

❤️ Support the show: If these conversations bring you value, consider becoming a supporter. Your support helps keep meaningful stories, diverse perspectives, and new conversations coming.

⭐ Help others discover the podcast: Follow, share, rate, or review the show.

📬 Continue the conversation: Read my companion reflections, After the Conversation, on Substack.

🌍 For immigrant and first-generation professionals: Join our free community at Immigrants in Corporate.

Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters.

In this insightful solo episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, host Lola Adeyemo challenges the traditional one-to-one mentorship model and introduces a powerful alternative: creating your personal board of directors. Drawing from her experience serving on multiple nonprofit boards and navigating her own career as an immigrant woman of color in STEM, Lola shares a strategic approach to assembling mentors who can address different aspects of your professional development and intersectional identity.

Lola explains how the conventional one-to-one mentorship model places unrealistic expectations on individual mentors, especially those from underrepresented groups who already face significant pressure in leadership positions. For professionals with multiple intersectional identities, finding a single mentor who understands all aspects of their experience is nearly impossible. This creates a gap between expectations and reality that can leave both parties frustrated.

Drawing from her experience serving on nonprofit boards, Lola introduces a more effective alternative: creating a personal board of directors. This approach distributes the mentorship responsibility across several individuals with complementary skills, experiences, and perspectives. Just as organizations intentionally select board members to fill specific needs, professionals should strategically identify mentors who can address different aspects of their development.

Lola emphasizes that distributing mentorship across a "board" of individuals allows professionals to receive more targeted guidance while respecting everyone's time and expertise. This approach recognizes that no single person can fulfill all mentorship needs, especially for those with multiple intersectional identities navigating complex professional environments.

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Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Thriving in Intersectionality with Dr. Lola Adeyemo.

This podcast explores how identity, lived experience, and leadership intersect in today's workplace and beyond. Through conversations with leaders, founders, educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, we uncover stories and insights that help people thrive across the many intersections of their lives.

💬 Share your thoughts: Have a thought or question about this episode? Send me a Fan Mail message directly on our Buzzsprout podcast page. I'd love to hear what resonated with you.

❤️ Support the show: If these conversations bring you value, consider becoming a supporter. Your support helps keep meaningful stories, diverse perspectives, and new conversations coming.

⭐ Help others discover the podcast: Follow, share, rate, or review the show.

📬 Continue the conversation: Read my companion reflections, After the Conversation, on Substack.

🌍 For immigrant and first-generation professionals: Join our free community at Immigrants in Corporate.

Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters.

In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, host Lola Adeyemo welcomes Eric Hellon, whose career journey spans graphic design, real estate expertise, and social entrepreneurship. Eric shares how his intersectional identities as a multiracial individual and "girl dad" have shaped his career decisions and professional growth. With experience as a real estate agent, broker, certified financial coach, and nonprofit founder, Eric offers valuable insights on career transitions, finding your passion, and building generational wealth.

Eric identifies with several intersectional identities that shape his perspective and work. As a multiracial individual with Native American (Wampanoag and Blackfoot), Cape Verdean, Black, and Cuban heritage, he navigates a real estate industry that is predominantly older and white. Eric also discusses how being a "girl dad" to two daughters allows him to be futuristic and moving through different socioeconomic classes throughout his life has influenced his outlook and the work he does today.

Growing up in a family that have sometimw experienced being on welfare, Eric brings a unique perspective to his current financial coaching work. He shares how these experiences allow him to authentically challenge assumptions in the high-net-worth circles he now moves in, advocating for the very social programs that once helped his own family. His background witnessing both entrepreneurship (through his father) and traditional employment (through his mother who often worked multiple jobs) gave him insight into different career paths and work ethics.

After starting his career in graphic and web design, Eric found his passion in real estate, becoming an agent in 2006 and eventually a broker in 2014. Recognizing that many individuals lack the financial literacy needed to successfully navigate homeownership, he launched the nonprofit organization Homeowner Prep. This organization offers free financial coaching, credit assistance, and homebuying preparation services to help people transition from renting to owning—breaking what he calls "the rent trap."

Eric shares valuable career advice that applies across industries and experience levels:

Eric Hellon: Homeownership Expert, Executive Director of Homeowner Prep Website:homeownerprep.org 

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Support the show

Thank you for listening to Thriving in Intersectionality with Dr. Lola Adeyemo.

This podcast explores how identity, lived experience, and leadership intersect in today's workplace and beyond. Through conversations with leaders, founders, educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, we uncover stories and insights that help people thrive across the many intersections of their lives.

💬 Share your thoughts: Have a thought or question about this episode? Send me a Fan Mail message directly on our Buzzsprout podcast page. I'd love to hear what resonated with you.

❤️ Support the show: If these conversations bring you value, consider becoming a supporter. Your support helps keep meaningful stories, diverse perspectives, and new conversations coming.

⭐ Help others discover the podcast: Follow, share, rate, or review the show.

📬 Continue the conversation: Read my companion reflections, After the Conversation, on Substack.

🌍 For immigrant and first-generation professionals: Join our free community at Immigrants in Corporate.

Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters.

In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, host Lola Adeyemo welcomes Loc Nguyen, whose remarkable journey spans multiple intersecting identities and career transitions. From arriving in the United States as a Vietnamese refugee to serving in the Air Force, experiencing corporate America, and now building a nonprofit while pursuing his doctoral studies, Loc's story exemplifies the power of embracing all aspects of one's identity.

Loc shares his experience navigating professional spaces while holding multiple intersectional identities: a war refugee from Vietnam, an Asian American male, a veteran of the Air Force, a father of a child with special needs, a doctoral candidate, and an assistant professor. Throughout the conversation, he discusses how these different aspects of his identity have shaped his professional journey, presenting both unique challenges and distinctive advantages.

Loc's career path has been far from linear. Beginning with family expectations to become a doctor, he pivoted to teaching sixth grade after realizing medical school wasn't his calling. Following the events of 9/11, he felt compelled to join the Air Force, serving for eight and a half years as an officer—a way to repay the country that had given him refuge. After military service, he spent 12 years in the corporate world, primarily working with software startups in customer relations. Now, as a doctoral candidate at USC and an assistant professor at Cañada Community College, he's evolving his leadership skills to drive practical change.

During his time in the Air Force, Loc became a father to a daughter with Down syndrome, an experience that has profoundly shaped his perspective and his current work. Recognizing the limited educational pathways available for students with intellectual disabilities after K-12, he founded the Better Tomorrow Center for Advancement. This nonprofit organization aims to create college opportunities for students with special needs, including physical fitness training as part of a holistic approach to education.

Loc emphasizes several important approaches for professionals navigating multiple intersectional identities:

Loc Nguyen on Linkedin

Founder of Better Tomorrow Center for Advancement Website: btr-tmrw.com

Chat with Host Lola Adeyemo: LinkedIn

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Support the show

Thank you for listening to Thriving in Intersectionality with Dr. Lola Adeyemo.

This podcast explores how identity, lived experience, and leadership intersect in today's workplace and beyond. Through conversations with leaders, founders, educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, we uncover stories and insights that help people thrive across the many intersections of their lives.

💬 Share your thoughts: Have a thought or question about this episode? Send me a Fan Mail message directly on our Buzzsprout podcast page. I'd love to hear what resonated with you.

❤️ Support the show: If these conversations bring you value, consider becoming a supporter. Your support helps keep meaningful stories, diverse perspectives, and new conversations coming.

⭐ Help others discover the podcast: Follow, share, rate, or review the show.

📬 Continue the conversation: Read my companion reflections, After the Conversation, on Substack.

🌍 For immigrant and first-generation professionals: Join our free community at Immigrants in Corporate.

Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters.

In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, host Lola Adeyemo welcomes Horatio Morgan, an AI specialist and business process improvement expert whose remarkable journey from Jamaica to the United States exemplifies resilience, adaptability, and the power of embracing opportunity. As an engaged member of the Immigrants in Corporate community, Horatio shares his experience navigating professional growth across cultures while leveraging his unique intersectional identity.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

The Power of Multiple Intersections: Born and raised in Jamaica, Horatio identifies his intersectionality through various lenses: being Jamaican in the United States, coming from a poor neighborhood while attending one of Jamaica's elite high schools, and being a first-generation everything—first to attend high school, college, and soon an Ivy League university. He also references Jamaica's national motto, "Out of many, one people," highlighting how cultural diversity is intrinsic to his identity.

From Supreme Court Clerk to Breaking Through Imposter Syndrome: Horatio shares his unexpected professional journey, beginning as a clerk at Jamaica's Supreme Court. Despite having no mentor, he said "yes" to opportunities that expanded his responsibilities and visibility. His willingness to self-teach and take on challenges led to international recognition, including special projects with the Organization of American States and a prestigious fellowship program. One of his most powerful stories involves being selected for the Duke of Edinburgh Commonwealth Study Conferences Leadership Program in England. Surrounded by Fortune 500 executives, he initially experienced severe imposter syndrome until his expertise in business restructuring silenced doubts. "Never look down on people because you don't know their experiences," he reflects, noting how others had underestimated his capabilities based on appearances.

Navigating Professional Growth in a New Country: Horatio emphasizes several key strategies for immigrants building careers in the United States:

Horatio has developed methods to teach AI to perform business analysis functions and is passionate about helping others in the community prepare for AI's transformative impact on various industries.

Resources from Horatio

Horatio Morgan: Connect on LinkedIn 

Chat with Host Lola Adeyemo: LinkedIn Profile

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Support the show

Thank you for listening to Thriving in Intersectionality with Dr. Lola Adeyemo.

This podcast explores how identity, lived experience, and leadership intersect in today's workplace and beyond. Through conversations with leaders, founders, educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, we uncover stories and insights that help people thrive across the many intersections of their lives.

💬 Share your thoughts: Have a thought or question about this episode? Send me a Fan Mail message directly on our Buzzsprout podcast page. I'd love to hear what resonated with you.

❤️ Support the show: If these conversations bring you value, consider becoming a supporter. Your support helps keep meaningful stories, diverse perspectives, and new conversations coming.

⭐ Help others discover the podcast: Follow, share, rate, or review the show.

📬 Continue the conversation: Read my companion reflections, After the Conversation, on Substack.

🌍 For immigrant and first-generation professionals: Join our free community at Immigrants in Corporate.

Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters.

In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, host Lola Adeyemo welcomes Maryam Habashi, a transformational business development coach with nearly three decades of professional experiences across corporate America, sales leadershiphip roles and entrepreneurship. As the founder of INFUSE system, Maryam specializes in implementing systems that drive measurable growth for top producers, team leaders, and executives across the U.S. and Canada.

Born in Tehran, Iran, Maryam brings a unique perspective as a Middle Eastern woman who speaks Farsi and Spanish. She explains how diverse teams reach broader markets and solve problems more effectively. While advocating for inclusive recruiting, she emphasizes the importance of hiring qualified candidates rather than filling quotas.

In the male-dominated insurance and investment industry, Maryam made history in her company by age 37 and earned her first million by 42. When facing gender-based obstacles, she focused on measurable performance, letting results speak for themselves. Her philosophy: "I accepted that I might need to work harder... and I deserve it."

As a certified DISC assessment coach, Maryam helps professionals understand their natural tendencies and communication styles. She challenges the golden rule, suggesting instead: "Treat people the way they want to be treated, lead people the way they want to be led." This requires self-awareness and adaptability.

Maryam counters the myth that entrepreneurship is superior to corporate employment. "I'm tired of hearing that the corporate world is bad," she states. Drawing from experience in both worlds, she emphasizes finding the environment where you'll personally thrive long-term, whether that's corporate stability or entrepreneurial freedom.

Maryam shares the definition of success through four essential freedom lens:

She emphasizes that these freedoms remain inaccessible to those trapped in a victim mentality or self-doubt. "We're in a country where you could be whatever you are and be amazing at it."

Maryam offers several resources for listeners:

Connect with Maryam Habashi on Linkedin or visit www.infusesystem.com

Connect with Host Lola Adeyemo: LinkedIn Profile

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Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Thank you for listening to Thriving in Intersectionality with Dr. Lola Adeyemo.

This podcast explores how identity, lived experience, and leadership intersect in today's workplace and beyond. Through conversations with leaders, founders, educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, we uncover stories and insights that help people thrive across the many intersections of their lives.

💬 Share your thoughts: Have a thought or question about this episode? Send me a Fan Mail message directly on our Buzzsprout podcast page. I'd love to hear what resonated with you.

❤️ Support the show: If these conversations bring you value, consider becoming a supporter. Your support helps keep meaningful stories, diverse perspectives, and new conversations coming.

⭐ Help others discover the podcast: Follow, share, rate, or review the show.

📬 Continue the conversation: Read my companion reflections, After the Conversation, on Substack.

🌍 For immigrant and first-generation professionals: Join our free community at Immigrants in Corporate.

Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters.

In our latest Women's History Month episode, host Lola Adeyemo sits down with Amaka Eziuku, Managing Partner at Synesis Group. With over 14 years of experience transforming talent and operational complexity into strategic advantages, Amaka shares insights from her journey as a Nigerian immigrant in the consulting world.

This conversation opens with Amaka beautifully articulating how intersectionality shapes who we are professionally. Moving from Nigeria to America at age 7, she embodies a blend of cultural influences contributing to her tenacity and resilience in the workplace. An impactful point in her reflection on family influence is how she inherited her entrepreneurial thinking from her father, a businessman, while her "heart" - emotional intelligence - comes from her mother. This combination of traits has served as a foundation for her success in her professional journey.

Amaka's educational journey defies the typical narrative of singular focus. At Lamar University, rather than narrowing her studies, she embraced breadth and graduated with three degrees: Finance, Management Information Systems, and Economics. Later, she added a Master's in Computer Information Engineering from Northwestern University.

This multidisciplinary approach wasn't initially strategic—it evolved from recognizing opportunities when her original finance path didn't align with her university's strengths. Amaka emphasizes the importance of seeing available opportunities before you can connect them. This adaptability would become a recurring theme in her career.

For listeners considering consulting careers, Amaka provides valuable context about this dynamic field. She likens the consulting sector to the oil and gas industry—with businesses operating within businesses—highlighting its complexity and breadth.

Her expertise in talent and operations consulting involves everything from change management to lean transformations, with projects spanning different industries and problem sets. This variety is both the challenge and appeal of consulting work.

The most compelling insight for aspiring consultants: consulting requires a personality that thrives in dynamic environments. Amaka notes that if juggling multiple responsibilities brings satisfaction rather than stress, consulting might be the right career path.

Perhaps the most vulnerable part of the conversation was Amaka's candid reflection on being a "serial careerist." While her focused approach led to professional achievements, she acknowledges experiencing "arrested development" in personal areas.

She cautions that placing the majority of weight on career can lead to losing sight of oneself as a person. This insight resonates deeply—career success without personal development can lead to viewing relationships transactionally and struggling to find identity beyond work.

For professionals at all stages, this serves as a powerful reminder to evaluate whether career pursuits are crowding out other crucial aspects of human development.

One challenge Amaka faced as a young consultant was finding mentors who understood her professional world. With family and friends often asking "so what do you do again?", she found her community within her workplace.

"In work, I had a support system within work," she explains. Female and male leaders who recognized her potential became crucial allies. This highlights an important strategy for professionals in specialized fields: sometimes your most valuable mentors come from your professional circle rather than personal connections.

Amaka's guidance for navigating today's evolving workplace centers on two seemingly contradictory principles: have a plan but remain open to change.

She encourages professionals to understand their values before choosing between large organizations and boutique firms. While big consulting firms offer valuable brand recognition and development opportunities, they aren't the right fit for everyone's personality or work style.

Her parting wisdom resonates regardless of industry: "Don't forget who you are. Prioritize you as you continue to grow and evolve. Don't lose track of that because you're chasing something, whether that's a title or position."

The conversation concluded with a lighthearted discussion about Nigerian cuisine—Amaka (Igbo) expressing appreciation for jollof rice typically associated with Lola's Yoruba heritage. This moment of cultural connection reminds listeners that shared experiences often transcend regional differences, much like how intersectional identities can become strengths in the workplace when fully embraced.

Thriving in Intersectionality amplifies voices of leaders with diverse backgrounds navigating corporate spaces. Join us weekly for insights to help you overcome barriers and advance in your professional career.

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Thank you for listening to Thriving in Intersectionality with Dr. Lola Adeyemo.

This podcast explores how identity, lived experience, and leadership intersect in today's workplace and beyond. Through conversations with leaders, founders, educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers, we uncover stories and insights that help people thrive across the many intersections of their lives.

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📬 Continue the conversation: Read my companion reflections, After the Conversation, on Substack.

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Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters.